Medicare App Displays Covered Medical Items And Services

Through a new app by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, beneficiaries with Original Medicare now will be able to see whether Medicare covers a specific medical item or service. The app allows users to get accurate and consistent coverage information. CMS Administrator Seema Verma stated, “eMedicare is one of several initiatives focused on modernizing Medicare and empowering patients with information they need to get the best value from their Medicare coverage.”

Medicare Part D Enrollees Face High Out-Of-Pocket Drug Costs

A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that Medicare Part D enrollees could face high annual out-of-pocket costs for specialty drugs. Using data from Medicare’s Plan Finder website, the analysis calculated expected annual 2019 costs for more than two dozen specialty tier drugs used to treat cancer, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. The out-of-pocket cost ranged from $2,622 for a hepatitis C drug to $16,551 for a drug to treat leukemia.

CMS Updates EHR Known Issues Document

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services updated the known issues document associated with the electronic health record quality reporting program. The update includes issue resolutions and newly identified issues, which includes all applications and reports that support the quality reporting programs for provider, vendor and quality improvement organization users.

Consider This ...

Measles, spread by coughing or sneezing, can remain in the air for as much as two hours in an isolated space. Ninety percent of people exposed to measles who have not been vaccinated will get the virus.